A box unfinished

It's not like me to use public humiliation, but desperate times require desperate measures. 

About a year and a half ago, my 10 year old son spent a day with me in my woodshop.  He wanted a box to hold some of his treasures and asked if I would build it for him.  Instead, I suggested that I help him build it and he agreed.  He'd spent some time there before, mostly sanding or using basic hand tools and I though this would be a good time to see just how much of the process he could handle by himself.

He wasn't ready for most power tools, so the design had to take that into account.  I cut the blanks, the groove for the bottom and the rabbits on the front & back and tried to let him do as much of the rest as possible.  We spent some time selecting the boards to use and then set out to build the box.  Here's what he did:

1.  Setting the fence - He set the distance between the fence and the blade so I could rip the sides to the height we wanted.

2.  Marking the sides - We had selected specific boards for their grain pattern, and wanted to be sure they were in the right order when assembled.

3.  Cleaning-up the rabbits with a chisel - Jake really liked chiseling.  A rabbit, as you can see, is an L-shaped cut in the end of a board.

4.  Pre-sanding  - He really liked this too.  It's a lot easier to sand pieces like this before they're assembled.

5.  Dry Assembly - Before a project is glued-up, it's best to do a dry run to be sure everything fits properly.  As I recall, Jake found a few mistakes I made which needed fixing.

6.  Glue-up - Applying just the right amount to hold, but not so much that you get a lot of "squeeze out".

7.  Clamping - Clamping takes some practice, so I jumped in and assisted with this step.

8.  Cutting dowels - Using the hand saw is one of his favorite things to do in the shop.

9.  Dowel layout - Keeping the spacing even will enhance the boxe's appearance. 

10.  Awling - Is "awling" a word?

11.  Drilling the dowel holes - This step was a bit over his head, so we did some 4-hand drilling.

12.  Gluing and wacking the dowels

13.  Trimming the dowels (a few hours later when the glue had dried)

Well, this is as far as we got that day and I was delighted to see how much Jake was able to do.  We chose the wood for the top and later that night, I cut the pieces to size, and glued them up.

*****

 Since that time, the unfinished box has sat on a shelf in my son's room.

 *****

So here comes the public humiliation......

Okay Jake.  It's been a year and a half and despite my repeated requests, you haven't finished the box.  Now the whole world knows.  Don't you feel embarrassed?  Do you want everyone in the world to know you don't finish what you start?

*****

Here's to hoping for a follow-up post - The finished box.

Bremer's Disease

I'm starting to believe it's hereditary, but if it is, it began with my generation.  There's no evidence of its existence in either my Mother's or my Father's families.  Maybe a recessive gene had been hiding for centuries or maybe a mutation occurred, but it's real.  I have it, my brother has it, and now it appears that my youngest son has it as well.  Is it a tragedy?  Some think so.  Can it be cured?  Doubtful. 


Bremer's disease affects the way a thought travels through the brain and the way it is communicated.  It's as though the thought takes a left turn or shifts to an alternate thought pattern.  The shift can make perfect sense to me, but upon expressing it, others mostly react with confusion, and sometimes derision.


Thinking back, it may have first appeared in my brother.  He's three years younger than me and I can recall seeing symptoms in him in his early teens.  My guess is that I first felt its affects somewhere in my early twenties.  And now, my youngest son, not even a teenager, is the latest victim.


One interesting aspect of the disease is that the thought-shifting can happen simultaneously in two people.  Often, my brother and I will experience the same shift upon being confronted by a particular stimulus.  This is starting to happen with my son and me as well.


The hard part of this post is, well, getting into the details, and accepting that it's just the way my mind works.  Following are some examples of how the shift works.  I hope you will be understanding.

Alternate Definitions                                                                        

Green Hornet – A trap for inexperienced prostitutes

Tangent – A gentleman who has spent some time in the sun

Commentator – An ordinary potato

Deliberation – Putting someone who has been freed from bondage back into it

Devoted – Withdrew a ballot

Handicap – A small hat that’s readily accessible

Rhapsody – A town dedicated to rap music

Paradise – What’s used to shoot craps

Testosterone – When a woman named Tess throws up – as in “Tess tossed her own" cookies.

Promotion – A paid athlete’s movement

Proficiency – An area in the ocean where professionals fish

Cryptic – A little eight-legged blood-sucking creature that lives in mausoleums

Moment – What Larry and Curly’s brother intended

Rebate – To put a worm back on a hook

Hedge Fund – Money put away for a future English garden

Perspire – A funeral fire for a lady’s hand bag

Emulate – Dorothy’s admonition to a tardy aunt.

Euthanasia – Children in China

Desire – The male horse

Debunk – To get out of bed.

Brisket – A collection of tools needed to perform a circumcision

Disguise – 1. To show no respect to men, 1. Belonging to a certain fella, 3. ‘This person is’ as in the song Disguise in Love

Guru – A sticky marsupial

Information – How an army marches

Erin go braghless – Irish woman’s liberation movement slogan

Economist – An inexpensive spray

Transparent – One who changed from a father to a mother or from a mother to a father.

Odyssey – Strange to look at

Europe – What an umpire says to the next batter

Massachusetts – (1) A heap of dentures, (2) A series of sneezes performed at a Catholic religious ceremony

Hyannis port - A long-legged gay man bent over and ready for action

Stylist - A roster of pig pens

Spectator - A potato constructed in anticipation of future sale

Equip - An electronically delivered retort

Toiletries - Trees upon which toilets grow

Hypocritical - Of strategic importance to hippopotami

Like I said, it's just the way my mind works.

PSA: Please don't kill the hummingbirds

Next time you're at someone's house and spot a hummingbird feeder, ask the owner, "How often do you change the nectar?" and hope they don't reply, "I refill it when it's empty."

Be gentle, but let them know that they are harming and possibly killing the hummingbirds that feed there.  The usual response I get is, "It's only sugar water, what harm could it do?"  The answer to that question is - "Plenty."


There are many websites with information on feeding hummingbirds.  The following quote is from wildbirdshop.com:

Sugar water is a very rich growth medium.  Yeasts like to eat it causing fermentation which can harm hummingbirds.  Mold and bacteria grow in it and can also harm the birds.  That is why it is important to keep the feeder clean and the nectar fresh.  You must change the nectar frequently to avoid these contaminants.    In cooler temperatures we recommend changing it every seven days.  If the temperatures are getting above 70 degrees, follow this chart:

High temperatures		Change nectar after
71-75		6 days
76-80		5 days
81-84		4 days
85-88		3 days
89-92		2 days
93+		change daily

Here's another from audobon.org:

Cleaning Feeders: Change the sugar solution often. Clean and put only enough fresh sugar solution in your feeders to last one to two days in warm weather, or sooner if it looks cloudy or develops mold. Keeping feeders in the shade slows down fermentation and mold growth. But, feeders placed in the sun are more easily seen and seem to attract more individual hummingbirds.

Use only vinegar and water to clean feeders. Soap or bleach traces left in feeders, even after thorough rinsing, can harm hummers. A specially designed sponge or brush can help. If you use bleach as a last resort, follow-up by cleaning the bleach out with a vinegar and water solution.

 *****

There is another, and in my opinion better, option: Plant the plants that attract and feed hummingbirds.  There are many.  My favorite is called 'Batface', more formally -  Cuphea Ignea, which has long thin red flowers. There are also many websites with information on the plants that hummingbirds like.  Here's one I like.

Here are a few pictures of hummingbirds feeding in my garden:

Are we willing to make sacrifices?

Are you willing to sacrifice your well-being for the greater-good?


Are you willing to lower your standard of living for the greater-good?


Let's imagine I own a well-established small business which manufactures plastic forks, knives and spoons.  My business has put my children through college and secured my family's retirement.  Additionally, the business provides a good living for about 50 employees.  We pay a fair wage and provide health insurance.   We support local schools, charitable organizations and sponsor a Little League team.  Considering our employee's families, our vendor's employees and all the other people we touch through our community activities, we have a positive affect on the quality of life of possibly hundreds of lives.  I'm very proud of what we've accomplished.


But what's been gnawing on my conscience lately is my business plan.  It's predicated on my product being used once and then thrown away.  It assumes an unending supply of natural resources and limitless space in landfills.  It's based on being wasteful and destructive to our environment. 


Could I change my business plan?  Could my product be marketed as a "buy it once and reuse it" instead of tossing it in the trash?  I, by myself, probably could not change the habits of millions of consumers, but for the moment, let's assume I can.  What would that mean to me?  What would it mean to my employees?


It would mean a significant drop in sales, significant lay-offs of my employees and possibly our vendor's employees.  It would mean a significant drop in my standard of living.  It could even mean the end of my business. 


So, what's the right thing to do?  Am I willing to sacrifice my well-being (and that of many others) for the benefit of our society's future - for the health of our environment?  I can rationalize that my affect on landfills is so small that it's not significant and I don't need to worry about it?  I can rationalize that consumers will continue to demand my products, and if I stop making them, someone else will fill the void.  Is it up to me?  Is it my responsibility to take action?

*****

If we only think of today, we will never solve the environmental problems we will face in the future.  Yes, individuals will need to make sacrifices for the greater-good, but the "Greater-Good" need to participate in these sacrifices as well.  They need to change their consumption habits as well.


For the record, I have little hope.

Where have all the butterflies gone?

Six or seven years ago, we decided to create a garden to attract butterflies.  It's easy to do, and there are two key ingredients:

1. Bright red, yellow and orange flowers, and
2. The specific plants that caterpillars eat.

Not all, but many butterfly caterpillars will eat only one plant, so, if you have that plant, it will attract females to lay their eggs...and if you attract females... Some examples:

• Monarchs caterpillars eat Milkweed
• Gulf Fritillary caterpillars eat Passion Flower Vine
• Anise Swallowtail caterpillars eat Fennel

So we planted the plants and the butterflies came.  Within a couple years we saw:

1. Monarch
2. Gulf Fritillary
3. Cabbage White
4. Cloudless Sulphur
5. Skipper
6. West Coast Lady
7. Red Admiral
8. Mourning Cloak
9. Anise Swallowtail
10. Gray Hairstreak
11. Funereal Duskywing
12. Probably Marine Blue (but they don't sit still enough to get a good look)
13. And a few others I couldn't identify. 

And not only butterflies arrived.  On a hot summer day, our back yard was hopping.  Birds, bees, dragonflies, hummingbirds and butterflies were all engaged in breeding, eating and fighting for territory.  Birds would swoop down from the fence to grab a Skipper for lunch.  Sometimes they ate, but when they missed, the Skipper would chase the bird away.  (Skippers are one of the smallest butterflies, but they don't lack for courage.)


There would be dozens of butterflies in the garden throughout the day and they often fought for territory.  I once saw two Mourning Cloaks being chased by two Gulf Fritillaries being chased by two skippers.  Like I said, it was hopping.


So, why am I writing this?  Well, for the past few years, there have been fewer and fewer butterflies in our garden.  Both in quantity and species.  This year I've been happy to see 3 or 4 at a time, and I've only seen 5 or 6 different species.


And why is this happening?   I wish I knew. Our summers have been cooler so that may be a contributing factor, but there could be many other issues involved.


For now, I'm adding more plants to attract butterflies and keeping my fingers crossed.


Here are some pictures we took of the butterflies listed above (in order).

"It's the trickle-up economy, stupid"

Trickle-down doesn't work.


Imagine I'm a "high-income/job creating" taxpayer, with a lot of cash sitting around waiting for an opportunity.  I don't believe continued or additional tax cuts will convince me to: buy some land, build a factory, buy equipment, stock the inventory shelves, hire employees and then figure out what to make and sell.  But, if the middle class started spending again and creating demand for products, I'd be inclined to see where I could invest to take advantage of the demand.


The rich will probably always get richer, and that's not a bad thing, but it can come about in more than one way.  A couple are:

• Continue on our current course which is creating an ever increasing divide between the rich and everyone else, or
• Create opportunities for the middle and other classes to grow and fund programs to raise the poor out of poverty.

My preference, as you can imagine, is the second option.  The rich will still get richer, but by sharing in the prosperity of the rest of us, not by feeding off of our financial demise.


Ps: The title is in reference to Bill Clinton's campaign motto "It's the economy stupid".